The 9th series of the Sabah Invitational team tennis tournament known as 1 Malaysia Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor Challenge trophy will see an increase in the prize money being offered.
From the previous RM10,000, the money on offer has been increased to RM 15,000. With the increase in prize money, the number of teams taking part has also been increased to 16 teams this year.
The tournament has been slated for 16-18 September.
The five doubles are for men above 25, 35, 45 & 55 while the womenâs doubles will be for 35 years and above . This format has been retained since the first tournament in 2008.
The Tourism and Environment Minister will be hosting a welcome dinner on September 17.
Sabah tennis president Johnson Koh and the organizing chairman Daniel Tan ensured that all the teams are briefed on the logistic obstacles of the four venues this year due to the Likas tennis courts undergoing roofing works and the Sutera harbour covered courts in use for a concert.
The first round knock-out play will place the teams into the top half and the bottom half on a best of pro set games 8.
The winning teams will then be grouped into 2 groups and the losing teams into another two groups. They will again play a pros set to determine the two semi finalists of each placing.
The bottom half will then play the pro set to determine the 9-16 placings.
The top half will play on on a 2 plus 1 super tie break 3 set win to determine the champion and 8 placings.